Norway is supporting efforts to assist the Indonesian Government in developing a national REDD+ strategy. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a is a mechanism that aims to create an incentive for developing forested countries to protect, better manage and wisely use their forest resources, and through this contribute to reducing green house gas emissions and combat climate change.
As part of Norway’s Climate and Forest Initiative which was launched at the 2007 Bali Climate Conference, Norway is, through the UN-REDD programme, supporting the Indonesian Government in developing a comprehensive national REDD+ strategy. The scheme was officially launched by the Prime Minister of Norway and UN Secretary General in September 2008, and Indonesia was in March 2009 selected as one of the nine pilot countries for the quick start phase.
UN-REDD is a response to the opportunity REDD+ represents, an opportunity for combating climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, while contributing to improve people’s lives and livelihoods. The UN-REDD Programme aims to assist the Government of Indonesia in establishing a fair, equitable and transparent REDD+ regime, and works along some guiding principles to ensure co-benefits to biodiversity, local livelihoods and equity. Ensuring broad stakeholder engagement and communication about REDD+, as well as coordinating national and international efforts on REDD+ are important in this regard.
In addition, the UN-REDD Programme will develop Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems, as well as a Reference Emissions Level (REL) and fair payment systems at a provincial level. For this, concrete pilot activities will be conducted on the ground. UN-REDD thus serves the double purpose of developing the necessary capacity to implement REDD+ strategies as well as provide practical experience and lessons learned which can inform the international dialogue on a post-2012 REDD+ mechanism.
The UN-REDD Joint Programme is a collaboration between FAO, UNDP and UNEP. Building on the comparative advantages and expertise of these three UN agencies, the Programme embodies the ‘One UN’ approach, and is an example of the United Nations system ‘delivering as one’. Activities in Indonesia include ensuring the engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society in REDD+ activities as well as promotion of biological and cultural diversity to contribute to sustainable livelihoods while reducing the loss of valuable forest. Providing incentives to good governance and capacity building are other important parts of the Programme.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry formally signed the UN-REDD Programme document in November 2009. In March 2010, the UN-REDD Programme held its Inception Workshop to kick start the implementation of the Programme in Indonesia
For additional information www.un-redd.org